Abstract
A method for determining the orbit types of the action of the group of gauge transformations on the space of connections for gauge theories with gauge group SU(n) in spacetime dimension d≤4 is presented. The method is based on the one-to-one correspondence between orbit types and holonomy-induced reductions of the underlying principal SU(n)-bundle. It is shown that the orbit types are labelled by certain cohomology elements of spacetime satisfying two relations. Thus, for every principal SU(n)-bundle the corresponding stratification of the gauge orbit space can be explicitly determined. As an application, a criterion characterizing kinematical nodes for physical states in Yang–Mills theory with the Chern–Simons term proposed by Asorey et al. is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbati, M. C., Cirelli, R., Manià, A. and Michor, P.: The Lie group of automorphisms of a principal bundle, J. Geom. Phys. 6(2) (1989), 215–235.
Abbati, M. C., Cirelli, R. and Manià, A.: The orbit space of the action of gauge transformation group on connections, J. Geom. Phys. 6(4) (1989), 537–557.
Asorey, M., Falceto, F., López, J. L. and Luzón, G.: Nodes, monopoles, and confinement in 2 + 1-dimensional gauge theories, Phys. Lett. B 345 (1995), 125–130.
Asorey, M.: Maximal non-Abelian gauges and topology of the gauge orbit space, Nuclear Phys. B 551 (1999), 399–424.
Avis, S. J. and Isham, C. J.: Quantum field theory and fibre bundles in a general space-time, In: M. Levy and S. Deser (eds), Recent Developments in Gravitation (Cargèse 1978), Plenum Press, New York, 1979, pp. 347–401.
Borel, A.: Topics in the Homology Theory of Fibre Bundles, Lecture Notes in Math. 36, Springer, New York, 1967.
Bredon, G. E.: Introduction to Compact Transformation Groups, Academic Press, New York, 1972.
Bredon, G. E.: Topology and Geometry, Springer, New York, 1993.
Dodson, C. T. J. and Parker, P. E.: A User's Guide to Algebraic Topology, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Dordrecht, 1997.
Emmrich, C. and Römer, H.: Orbifolds as configuration spaces of systems with gauge symmetries, Comm. Math. Phys. 129 (1990), 69–94.
Fomenko, A. T., Fuchs, D. B. and Gutenmacher, V. L.: Homotopic Topology, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1986.
Ford, C., Tok, T. and Wipf, A.: Abelian projection on the torus for general gauge groups, Nuclear Phys. B 548 (1999), 585–612.
Ford, C., Tok, T. and Wipf, A.: SU(N)-gauge theories in Polyakov gauge on the torus, Phys. Lett. B 456 (1999), 155–161.
Fuchs, J., Schmidt, M. G. and Schweigert, C.: On the configuration space of gauge theories, Nuclear Phys. B 426 (1994), 107–128.
Heil, A., Kersch, A., Papadopoulos, N. A., Reifenhäuser, B. and Scheck, F.: Structure of the space of reducible connections for Yang-Mills theories, J. Geom. Phys. 7(4) (1990), 489–505.
Heil, A., Kersch, A., Papadopoulos, N. A., Reifenhäuser, B. and Scheck, F.: Anomalies from nonfree action of the gauge group, Ann. Phys. 200 (1990), 206–215.
Hirzebruch, F.: Topological Methods in Algebraic Geometry, Springer, New York, 1978.
Howe, R.: θ-series and invariant theory, In: Automorphic Forms, Representations, and Lfunctions, Proc. Sympos. Pure Math. 33, part 1, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, 1979, pp. 275–285.
Husemoller, D.: Fibre Bundles, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1966; Springer, New York, 1994.
Isham, C. J.: Space-time topology and spontaneous symmetry breaking, J. Phys. A 14 (1981), 2943–2956.
Kobayashi, S. and Nomizu, K.: Foundations of Differential Geometry, Vol. I, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1963.
Kondracki, W. and Rogulski, J.: On the notion of stratification, Demonstratio Math. 19 (1986), 229–236.
Kondracki, W. and Rogulski, J.: On the stratification of the orbit space for the action of automorphisms on connections, Dissertationes Math. 250, Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warsaw, 1986.
Kondracki, W. and Sadowski, P.: Geometric structure on the orbit space of gauge connections, J. Geom. Phys. 3(3) (1986), 421–433.
Massey, W. S.: A Basic Course in Algebraic Topology, Springer, New York, 1991.
Mitter, P. K. and Viallet, C.-M.: On the bundle of connections and the gauge orbit manifold in Yang-Mills theory, Comm. Math. Phys. 79 (1981), 457–472.
Moeglin, C., Vignéras, M.-F. and Waldspurger, J.-L.: Correspondances de Howe sur un corps p-adique, Lecture Notes in Math. 1291, Springer, New York, 1987.
Palais, R. S.: Foundations of Global Nonlinear Analysis, Benjamin, New York, 1968.
Przebinda, T.: On Howe's duality theorem, J. Funct. Anal. 81 (1988), 160–183.
Rubenthaler, H.: Les paires duales dans les algèbres de Lie réductives, Astérisque 219 (1994).
Schmidt, M.: Classification and partial ordering of reductive Howe dual pairs of classical Lie groups, J. Geom. Phys. 29 (1999), 283–318.
Singer, I. M.: Some remarks on the Gribov ambiguity, Comm. Math. Phys. 60 (1978), 7–12.
Skolem, T.: Diophantische Gleichungen, Springer, Berlin, 1938.
Steenrod, N.: The Topology of Fibre Bundles, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, 1951.
Whitehead, G. W.: Elements of Homotopy Theory, Grad. Texts in Math. 61, Springer, New York, 1978.
Woodward, L. M.: The classification of principal PU(n)-bundles over a 4-complex, J. London Math. Soc. (2) 25 (1982), 513–524.
Rudolph, G., Schmidt, M. and Volobuev, I. P.: Partial ordering of gauge orbit types for SU(n)-gauge theories, J. Geom. Phys. 42 (2002), 106–138.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rudolph, G., Schmidt, M. & Volobuev, I.P. Classification of Gauge Orbit Types for SU(n)-Gauge Theories. Mathematical Physics, Analysis and Geometry 5, 201–241 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020968206969
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020968206969